The Search the collection website is a searchable database with information about objects in the Moderna Museet collection. The entire collection has not been completely digitized yet. Some 73,000 works of art have been added to the Search the collection website so far. We are working constantly to add new works, add data and photograph the collection, in accordance with the Museum's digitalization program. We are aware that some information is missing from the database and that some facts may be incorrect. We welcome all feedback that will help us improve the contents of the database. The website is updated every day, with new information from the Moderna Museet art database.

You can browse the Collection website by clicking on one of six tabs. These are Categories, Artists, Highlights, On view, Acquisitions, and Countries.
You can also use the search box to search an artist’s name or artwork title, or click the Advanced search button (to the right of the basic search function, above the tabs).

Search the Collection by artist or artwork

To search the collection by artist or artwork, enter an artist’s name or title of the work into the search box labelled “Search collection by artist or artwork”. If you are unsure of the spelling, type the beginning of a name or title. The search results will include all items containing the letters you have entered. To search the collection by the exact artist's name or the exact title use quotation mark, for example when searching for the artworks of the artist "Man Ray" and you do not want to also include titles with the word "man".

Advanced Search

You can make an advanced search by specifying several search criteria. Click on "Choose field” and select one of the options from the drop-down menu. Then choose a condition in the second column, i.e. “Starts with” or “Contains”. In the third column, you can enter text or select from a drop-down list, depending on the field you have chosen. To search with multiple criteria, click “Add another row”. You can now, for example, search for a specific artist and a specific medium or date.

The available search options are artist name, nationality, gender, work title, category, year made, medium, accession number, and accession year.

Artist name:
In the search field, enter the artist’s name, or first letters or part of the artist’s name.

Artist nationality
A drop-down menu lists the nationalities represented in the Collection. Please note that nationality refers to an artist’s country of birth, not the place where the artist has lived or worked. For instance, Öyvind Fahlström is registered under Brazil, and Anna Riwkin under Russia, even though both artists lived and worked in Sweden and other countries. Some of the nations listed no longer exist, for instance, the USSR.

Artist gender
You can limit your search to male or female artists only. For artists whose biological gender is not specified, whose biological gender has changed or varies, or for artist groups, no gender is registered in the database. In order to find these individuals or groups, deselect female or male.

Title
In the search field, enter the title, the first letters or part of the title.

Category
Select a category from the drop-down menu of categories represented in the Collection. Please note that some works belong to more than one category and that some works have not yet been attributed to any category.

Year made
In the search field, enter the year in which the work was created: earliest, latest, a particular year, or a period between two years.

Medium
In the search field for material/technique, enter the material or technique, or enter the first letters or part of the material/technique.

Accession number
In the search field, enter an accession number, or the beginning or part of an accession number.

Accession year
In the search field, enter the acquisition year, earliest/latest year, or a period between two years.

The homepage is divided into 6 tabs: Categories, Artists, Highlights, On View, Acquisitions, and Countries. Each tab allows you to browse the collection in a different way. Read more about each section

Categories
The Collection is divided into 11 categories based on how the works of art were made. Some works are listed under more than one category. Most posters, for instance, are also listed as prints.

Artists
Choose the Artists tab and then click on any letter of the alphabet to find all artists in the Collection whose last names begin with that letter.

Highlights
Under Highlights you will find a number of works highlighted by Moderna Museet, in order to demonstrate the range and outstanding quality of the Collection.

Most Viewed Artwork is a listing of the 20 most popular works viewed by visitors to the website.

On View
On View lists all the works in the Collection that are currently being exhibited in Stockholm and Malmö.

In Stockholm you can view everything on show in the entire museum. You can also view works shown outdoors in the vicinity of the Museum building, and works that are on display in each respective room and other spaces where art is exhibited. Start by selecting a floor and then a room. Rooms are introduced with a short text about the art historic context in which the works are displayed. By clicking on the floor plan, you can see which works are shown in each respective room. You can also download a list in pdf format of the works shown in each room.

For Malmö you can view all the works shown at the Museum. You can also download a map in pdf format and read more about the exhibitions at Moderna Museet Malmö in relation to the map.

Acquisitions
Look under Acquisitions for search paths to donations and acquisitions, with brief descriptions of the works and the date of acquisition.

Countries
Choose the tab Countries to see the artists from each respective country that are represented in the Collection.They are listed in alphabetical order. Please note that nationality refers to the artist’s country of birth and also to the place where the artist has lived or worked. For instance, Öyvind Fahlström is registered under Brazil and Sweden, and Anna Riwkin under Russia and Sweden. Some of the nations listed no longer exist, for instance, the USSR.

Grid view or List view
The works in your search (your search result) can be presented as texts and images in a grid view or a list view. Images are displayed in a larger format in the grid view. List view contains the same data as the grid view, and a few additions. List view also includes information on accession number and whether a work is currently on view in Stockholm or Malmö.

Works of art are listed alphabetically by title by default. You can choose for the works to be ordered chronologically (most recent first or last), alphabetically by title or artist, or according to most viewed artworks.

Single object view
When you click on an image or artwork title, you can view more detailed information about that object. To the right is information relating to the work, including the artist’s name, biographical facts, country of birth, title, Swedish title, English title, material or technique, dimensions in centimeters (height x length x width), category, acquisition data and the acquisition or accession number. It also contains information on whether a work is being shown currently at the Museum in Stockholm or Malmö, and a link to all works currently on show.

Single object view has several sub-categories. The information provided for each work is divided into the following sub-categories: about the work, signature/inscriptions and markings, provenance, exhibition history, exhibition catalogues, catalogue raisonné, bibliography and references. Click on the plus sign to expand the entry.

Under the main object image on the left, there are more images and details of the work, and, where applicable, film and audio clips for the work. You can see works that are related to this particular object. You can also choose to view all works by an artist, works in the same category, from the same decade or country, or other works that may also be on view.

You can narrow down your search results by using the filters on the right hand side while in list or grid view. For example, under the "Refine your search," you can choose “works with images” and your results will be narrowed down to only objects with images available. You can also filter by Highlights, On view Stockholm/Malmö Category, Date, or Artists. To deselect a filter, click the “x” next to the filter under “selected filters”.

Texts and images are protected by Swedish copyright law and may not be reproduced or made available to the public without prior permission from the copyright holder. The images are published with a license from Bildupphovsrätt i Sverige. Permission is required, for instance, if you want to upload or copy a work to a website or internal network or to distribute or reproduce a work, regardless of method.